 STAN GETZ JOAO GILBERTO featuring ANTOMIO CARLOS JOBIM FIM K2HD 036 
A 99.9999% Silver Disc A 1963 Verve Recording Numerous friends have recommended that I obtain this recording for my collection. Eventually, I yielded to their entreaties, and to temptation, and bought the album. To be honest, I was not impressed at my first auditioning. The sound quality was clearly not five-star, though the music was very nice. My taste suggested that the two vocalists lacked in professionalism: the acoustic harmonics of the female voice, recorded in a separate chamber, were so dissimilar from the other elements of the recording that I was left with the impression her part was like a lump of ice-cream offered as a side-order to a hot entree. On the other hand, Stan Getz was in great shape, tip-top prime-time shape, and that was the best thing in the album. On later occasions, I listened again and again to this album, at the request of visiting friends. I began to enjoy it for its very natural singing, and the group's successful creation of an intimate, cozy atmosphere. I began to listen to the music, and forget the sound discrepancies. Last year, I met with a senior executive of Universal Music to acquire a few titles from the Verve recording vault, and he recommended this album, along with We Get Requests. I gladly accepted his offer. In the months since then, this album has been twice re-mastered at Flair Studios, JVC, Tokyo! I worked quite hard with Takeshi Hakkaman, the brilliant young engineer who is the master of the superb K2 HD sound. We tried to minimize the nasal quality and chattiness of the male voice, and the wiry elements of the female. At the conclusion of our first attempt, we thought we had succeeded. However, when I afterwards listened to the CDR at home, I felt we needed still further improvement. I asked Takeshi to return to the task. The version on this album is thus, finally, re-mastered to the best sound we could achieve. Please listen to what we have done. I love it; I hope you will, too. Winston Ma Spring, 2009
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